18 Dec: St Albans to WGC

Thirteen riders assembled in the grand environment of the Waterend Barn in St Albans for coffee and seasonal conversation. The topic of begging letters arose, and there was a look of horror on some faces when it was pointed out they might not have been posted in time to get maximum return by arriving before Christmas.

We set off heading south past Sopwell and Tyttenhanger for that masterpiece of road-interchange design: the Colney Heath longabout. Fortunately a bridge had been provided for cyclists, albeit with very tight hairpin bends on ascent and descent causing a problem for Judy on her Trice, and after passing through the adjacent village, now with half of its pubs permanently closed, we skimmed Welham Green to cross the A1000 at Bell Bar.

Passing close by the former houses of those icons of British culture: Samantha Fox and Barbara Cartland, we followed the B158 to Letty Green where we picked up the cycle path to Welwyn Garden City arriving at our destination, one its few pubs, the Attimore Hall. Here, having been joined by one rider’s family members, we enjoyed a sociable but rather slowly delivered Christmas lunch.

As a climax, a new trophy (engineered and presented by Jon Crosby), consisting of a well-worn Brooks saddle mounted on a magnificent mahogany plinth was presented to the best South Herts ride leader of the year: Neil.

Neil already holds the Hargreaves Trophy for the best attendance, but this new trophy is awarded to the person who contributes most to leading rides. That could be for one really interesting ride or tour, or for looking after and encouraging new riders. Neil had led nine Sunday rides and nine Saturday fun rides and the trophy recognised particularly his efforts in building up the Saturday rides over the last few years.